


Strange what Happened

by VanillaMostly



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-03-27
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-10-17 07:52:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/174571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaMostly/pseuds/VanillaMostly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Malfoy in Gryffindor and a Weasley in Slytherin?  What has this world come to???</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Platform 9 and 3/4

**Author's Note:**

> I recently got into this pairing. hehehe.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, because I am not extremely rich.

**Platform 9 and 3/4**

 

 

Scorpius looked curiously at the group of people his father had just made eye contact with.  "Who's that, Dad?"  Recognition dawned at him as he took in the green eyes and black hair, though from this distance it was impossible to see the scar half-hidden behind the messy hair.  "Is... is that _him_?  Harry Potter?"

 

He couldn't help but sound awed.  I mean, it was _the_ Harry Potter!!

 

"Scorpius," said his mother with a tight shake of her head.  Scorpius wiped the eager look off his face and quickly arranged it into the stoic emotionless I-don't-care expression he's seen on his father a million times.  He'd forgotten that his father had something with Harry Potter.  He was pretty sure his father didn't hate Harry Potter, exactly, but he definitely didn't like talking about him.

 

To his surprise, his father glanced down at him and put his hand on Scorpius's blond head, giving it an awkward pat.

               

"Yes, that's him," he said.  After a long pause he added, "You be nice to his kids."

 

Scorpius looked to his mother for an explanation, but she only sighed softly, and there was a crinkle in her eye, almost, like she was suppressing a laugh.  "Alright now," she said, all back to business.  "Remember what I told you, Scorpius, listen to your professors, study hard, stay out of - "

 

" - trouble," finished Scorpius, trying not to roll his eyes.  "I know, Mum."

 

"Be a good boy."  To his embarrassment, he saw a glimmer in his mother's eyes as she bent down to his eye level.  "I'm going to miss you."

 

" _Mum!_   You're acting weird!"

 

"Astoria, come on," his father said, meeting Scorpius's gaze with a slight shrug.  _Women_.  "You'll see him again at Christmas."  His mother nodded, sniffing quietly, and gave Scorpius one last hug, which Scorpius prayed no one going to Hogwarts saw.

 

When it came to saying bye to his father, Scorpius could breathe in relief.  Draco Malfoy was certainly not one for emotional farewells. All he did was clap a hand on Scorpius's shoulder and say, "Good luck on the Sorting." 

 

"Thanks, Dad," Scorpius said.  His father didn't say anything else, but Scorpius had a good hunch on what he'd meant.  He knew his father was placed in Slytherin while he was at school; so was his mother and her sister.  According to his mother, pretty much his whole family that traced generations back was in Slytherin.  So obviously, his father wanted him to be in Slytherin too.

 

 _I hope I get placed in Slytherin,_ thought Scorpius.  He wanted to make his Dad proud.  With Draco Malfoy, even a pleased smile was pretty hard to come by. __

Scorpius said his last goodbye and climbed onto the Hogwarts Express, excitement thumping in his chest.  When he got on board of the train, though, that excitement quickly turned to uneasiness.  Was it just him or were many kids staring at him... no, glaring at him?  Scorpius smoothed his hair subconsciously. 

 

"Albus, Albus!  There's an empty one here!" 

 

He looked over to see, with a start, a miniature form of Harry Potter walking right past him.  Scorpius didn't have to remember seeing him on the platform to know who he was.

 

What had his dad said?  _You be nice to his kids_.

 

Scorpius glanced into the compartment on his left: it was already filled with a rowdy group of boys, and by the size of them Scorpius guessed they weren't first-years.  "Whatcha staring at, little twit?" one of them who saw him looking barked.

 

That made the answer for Scorpius.  He kept his eye on the back of Albus's messy black hair and followed.

 

 

***

 

 

Rose Weasley stifled a yawn as Albus whined once more at his brother James.  "Bog off!  Dad said that it doesn't matter what House I'm in!"

 

James laughed mockingly.  "Alright then!  Let's all get together and celebrate once you're in Slytherin, shall we?"  He gave a cheerful wave and ran off with his Second-year friends, leaving Albus looking very pale with apprehension again.

 

"Al, just ignore him," said Rose, turning to look out the window at the scenery speeding by.  Honestly, Albus was overreacting a bit too much in her opinion.  Wasn't everyone in their family Gryffindors?  What did they really have to worry about?  I mean, just look at the pattern.

 

It wasn't that Rose wasn't nervous; she was.  But a large part of her, the logical part of her brain, was expecting - had already accepted the fact, even - that she was going to be in Gryffindor.  It was like her fate.

 

Just then, the door to their compartment opened.  Al and Rose looked up. 

 

A blond boy with grey eyes stared back at them, somewhat uncertainly.  "Is anyone else sitting here?"

 

Albus exchanged a glance with Rose.  She could tell he recognized the boy, too.  It was the kid Rose's father told them not to associate with (" _Beat him in every test, Rosie_ ").  Still, she was used to her father joking about things, he was such a kid himself.  Rose shrugged.  "Nope.  Sit down if you want."

 

The boy did so, fingering his hair.  He had very straight blond hair that was combed neatly to the side, which Rose found quite funny. "I'm - uh, I'm Scorpius.  Scorpius Malfoy."

 

"We know," said Albus, speaking for Rose too, even though she had forgotten what her father had said back on the platform; the name started with a _S_ , that's all she remembered.

 

Scorpius Malfoy looked confused.  "What - you do?"

 

"Uncle Ron told us," replied Albus.  "Apparently your dad and him weren't the best of friends when they were at school.  Well, not with my dad either."

 

"Your dad? Harry _Potter_?"

 

"Uh-huh," said Albus, cracking an amused grin.  "How'd you guess?"

 

The Malfoy boy seemed to have missed his sarcasm; for some reason he looked a little embarrassed.  But then a frown took over his face and he asked, "You mean... my dad and yours weren't ever friends? At all?"

 

"They're ok now, I reckon," said Albus thoughtfully.  "My dad didn't seem angry or anything today when he saw him."

 

"Not my dad," chipped in Rose.  "He definitely wanted to punch Mr. Malfoy in the nose."

 

"He did?" Malfoy asked, a look of fear actually fleeting across his face.  Rose looked at him incredulously.  Had this boy never heard of a joke??

 

"I guess we should introduce ourselves," said Albus, gesturing towards himself and Rose.  "I'm Albus Potter.  This is my cousin, Rose Weasley.  We're first-years."

 

"Me too," said Malfoy excitedly.  "D'you know your House?  I hope I'm in - "

 

The compartment door slipped open again, revealing a lady pushing a cart.  "Hungry, kids?"

 

Albus and Malfoy immediately jumped up to buy snacks.  Rose tugged out a book from her bag, ignoring their chatter over what Chocolate Frog cards they were missing.  She had been planning to show Albus the spells she'd already gotten a head start on, but now that there was a new person in their company she lost her ethusiasm for the idea.  Of _course_ Albus would all of a sudden get so chummy with a stranger they'd just met, just because they were both boys.  Well, it'll likely change once they got to the school and were sorted into different Houses.

 

 

 


	2. The Sorting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the best feeling when you THOUGHT you lost something you wrote long ago... and then HAPPENED TO FIND IT ON YOUR HARD DRIVE AGAIN! :D 
> 
> Forgive me for errors. None of my stuff is Beta'd.
> 
> Disclaimer: do not own.

**The Sorting**

 

 

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

 

Scorpius's knees suddenly felt like jelly.  He half-stumbled, half-tripped his way to the stool, putting the hat on top of his head with shaking fingers.

 

_Ah, a Malfoy, aren't you.  Oh yes, I remember your dad like it was just yesterday.  A Slytherin if I ever saw one._

Scorpius's ears perked up. 

 

The hat chuckled.  _I see, you want to be in Slytherin too?  Dying to follow the family tradition?  Right, right, Slytherin is the House for the ambitious and the power-hungry..._

Scorpius waited eagerly, heart thumping in chest.

 

_Now, I'm not done yet, gotta look through it carefully here... hmm, you've got loyalty, sure - though definitely not enough wits for Ravenclaw - yes, that's a House we can rule out - oh hey, this is interesting, interesting indeed - you've got quite some courage, did you know?  Oh no? Still want to be in Slytherin?_

 

Scorpius nodded firmly.

_You want to...but for the wrong reason, I'm afraid.  You're lacking that something, that_ thirst _... Sorry, lad, you're just not suited for Slytherin -  I think you ought to be in_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

 

The Dining Hall was completely silent when Scorpius took off his hat.  A sea of surprised and shocked faces greeted his own.  He glanced at Professor Longbottom, wondering if he could plead to have another try, but the professor just nodded encouragingly at him, indicating with a tip of his head for him to take a seat.

 

Scorpius moved shakily to the Gryffindor table, which quickly sounded into a scattered applause that failed to cover the awkwardness of it all.  Scorpius could tell no one at Gryffindor could believe their ears; in fact, James Potter distinctly gawked at him with his mouth hanging open while someone else whispered loudly, "Isn't he a _Malfoy?_ "

 

Scorpius sat down at the table as Professor Longbottom moved onto "Morris, Anna."  His ears burned with embarrassment and shame and he concentrated his eyes on nothing but the plates in front of him until he heard the name, "Potter, Albus!"

 

Along with everyone else, Scorpius directed his attention at the Sorting hat.  Everyone whispered with great interest and pointed, seeming to have instantly forgotten about Scorpius; Albus's brother, a few seats ahead of Scorpius, shushed his friend as he craned his neck to see.

 

"GRYFFINDOR!"

 

The whole table erupted into applause and cheers.  Albus walked towards them, movement just as wobbly as Scorpius had felt, in a daze so that he couldn't do more than smile weakly at his whooping brother James.  Scorpius figured he was going to sit with his brother, but to his pleasant surprise Albus caught his gaze and sat down next to him.

 

"That wasn't so bad," Albus said, though his voice sounded shaky.  Scorpius laughed.

 

He grew quickly somber, however, at the thought of having to write the letter to his father tomorrow announcing the results of his Sorting.  Maybe he should just keep quiet and his father will just assume he was in Slytherin.  But Scorpius couldn't stay depressed for long; not when his new friend Albus was by his side and there was a delicious meal to look forward to.

 

\--

 

Rose tried to make eye contact with Albus as he took a seat at the Gryffindor table, just a see-what-did-I-tell-you smirk to prove that she was right: he had overreacted all for nothing.  To her great chagrin, Albus didn't even glance in her way.  He was too busy talking to his new best friend, _Scorpius_.

 

"That was weird," a girl in front of her was saying to her friend.  "My mum said his dad was a _Death Eater_."

 

"No way!  Voldemort's groupie?"

 

"Yup.  And his grandfather's Lucius Malfoy!  The guy who died in Azkaban!"

 

"Oh, wow.  And he's in _Gryffindor_?"

 

"But the Sorting Hat's never wrong."

 

Rose resisted the urge to snap at them to shut up.  All this waiting was making her temper run high.  Why did her last name have to start with _W_?  She was the last one to be Sorted!  Not fair!

 

Finally, Neville - oh, right, Professor Longbottom now - looked at her and winked.  "Weasley, Rose!" he called out.

 

Rose sped-walked to the hat and jammed it on.  She waited expectantly for the hat to scream Gryffindor.

 

_Ho ho, girl, you seem so certain you know what House I'll put you in.  Why's that?_

Rose could feel her eyebrows rise at this strange question.  _Of course because I'm a_ Weasley _._

_The Sorting's not based on your family name or your genes, dear.  You should know that better than anyone - oh my, yes, you've got quite the intelligence in you._

Ravenclaw?  The possibility had never occurred to Rose.

 

_What's this I detect?  Surprise and... oh, why, you're interested in being sorted into another House, aren't you!  Tired of following the footsteps of all the Weasleys before you._

Rose gave a small huff.  Whatever it was, could the Hat just hurry up?  She was starving for Merlin's sake.

 

The hat laughed softly in her ear.  _You're something, Rose Weasley... different from your relatives, very different.  I have the House for you now, it's clear as day.  And you'll do wonderfully in that House, I can see it.  This determination in you, this cunning mind - couldn't be a more perfect choice for Salazar Slytherin-_

Rose nearly slid off her stool.  What?

 

_\- Miss Weasley, I believe your House is_

"SLYTHERIN!!"

 

For the second time that night, the dining hall was shocked into silence when the newly Sorted first-year took off her hat. 

 

Even through her own surprise, the logical part of Rose Weasley couldn't help but think, rather drily: Well, this was sure a day for irony.


	3. Reactions

**Reactions**

 

 

“What was that?” Scorpius asked Albus as they sat down to eat breakfast.  He stared in fascination at the boy sitting at the Ravenclaw table who'd just gotten a red letter that burst into flames, but not before screaming “getting a detention the third day of school – HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!”

 

One of their dormmates Stu Jordan laughed, digging into his scrambled eggs.  “You've never heard of a Howler?”

 

Howler?  Scorpius _had_ never heard of such a thing, but he chose not to admit this.  It was awfully embarrassing that he knew so little; he was about as clueless as the Muggle-born in their dorm, Brian Atkins. 

 

Albus, who was squinting up at the owls, grinned.  “There's mine!”  A snowy white owl descended onto their table, dropping a parcel onto Albus's lap.  “Thanks, Junior,” said Albus.  He tore the parcel open o reveal packs of sweets.  “Yes!  I love these!” Albus exclaimed, grabbing a lemon drop.

 

Scorpius watched him quietly, suddenly having lost his appetite.  Albus was so lucky, Scorpius thought.  The morning after the Sorting, Albus had received a letter from his father, which he showed to Scorpius.   _Neville told us the good news.  I'm very proud of you, Albus Severus.  Congragulations!_   Scorpius, looking at those words, couldn't help but feel envious.  After breakfast, he went to the Owlery to send a letter to his parents, scratching line after line as he tried to think of a good way to phrase it.  Finally, reluctantly, he scribbled a brief “Mum, Dad, I'm in Gryffindor – sorry” and sent off the owl.  He couldn't decide if he wanted to hear back from his parents or not.  His mum would likely be happy for him, but his dad?  Scorpius considered sullenly that perhaps his father might disown him.

 

And now it was the fourth day after the Sorting, and if Scorpius counted right, he should be receiving his reply today.  His stomach twisted into a painful knot as now the possibility of a Howler emerged in his mind.

 

“Aren't you going to eat, Scorpius?” Harry Fletcher, another of their dormmates, asked him.  Albus had thought it was hilarious that Fletcher was named after his father, but declared that it was too odd calling someone his own age 'Harry', so he nicknamed Harry Fletcher “Fletch.”  And now everyone called him that - anyway, “Fletch” didn't mind.

 

“You can have it,” said Scorpius, seeing that Fletch was eyeing his bacon hungrily.  Fletch grinned, his chubby cheeks bulging. “Thanks, mate,” he said.  Scorpius gave a slight smile back.  Even with the feeling of impending doom upon him, he felt a little pleased to realize that he was getting less and less hostile looks now.  He still didn't feel like a Gryffindor, but the people in his House, at the very least, seemed to have stopped questioning the hat's decision.

 

He jumped a mile when a letter dropped down from above, narrowly missing his pumpkin juice.

 

The seal on the back confirmed that it was indeed from his parents.  To his relief, the letter wasn't red and did not suddenly start screaming at him.

 

“What charms do you think we'll get to learn today?” Albus was asking Brian.  Fletch and Stu immediately joined in the conversation with cries of “Did you see me yesterday?  _I set my quill on fire!_ ”

 

Glad to be able to read his letter in private, Scorpius carefully opened the letter.  His mother's neat handwriting greeted him.

 

_Scorpius, dear,_

_I am very happy to hear that.  What do you mean, “sorry?”  There's nothing to be sorry about, darling!  I always knew you were a brave boy! Now, how were your first days of school?  Did you make friends?  I do hope you have been keeping up with your homework.  Remember to keep track of your books, you're so disorganized..._

Scorpius stopped reading the typical Mum talk and slumped back in his seat, unable to keep  disappointment from welling up inside him.  He did not miss that his mother had written “I”, not “we.”  If his father had yelled at him, that was one thing.  But his unspoken disapproval was a million times worse.

 

He was about to crumple up the envelope when a small square note fell out, landing in his scrambled eggs.  Scorpius hurriedly retrieved the note.  Could it be...?

_You did great, son.  You have redeemed our name. -D.M._

It has got to be the shortest letter ever written in the world, but Scorpius didn't care.  He broke into a wide smile.  For the first time since the Sorting he felt proud.  His father wasn't angry!  And – and... “Redeemed our name...” What did he mean by that?  Scorpius wondered if it had to do with the dark whispers he'd gotten from Hogwarts students when he'd first arrived at school.

 

Albus's yells interrupted Scorpius's thoughts.  “Rose!  Over here!”

 

Scorpius glanced up.  Albus's cousin, the girl with the cool, steely gaze that didn't quite match her auburn pigtails looked over at them.  She was on her way to the Slytherin table.

 

Thinking of that, Scorpius felt something he couldn't put his finger on.  Then he realized what it was: compassion.  He didn't know the Rose girl very well, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that her placement in Slytherin was as strange as his placement in Gryffindor – maybe even stranger.  He'd already seen a handful of red hair in the Gryffindor common room, while there was no one else with red hair at the Slytherin table.  And he didn't forget James's and Albus's expression when they heard the hat shout “Slytherin”.   If Albus looked confused, James looked downright outraged.

 

“Hi, Al,” Rose said casually, striding over to them.  Scorpius noticed that people's heads from the Ravenclaw table and even Hufflepuff swiveled to watch.

 

“We have DADA together today,” said Albus brightly.  “Scorpius and I will save you a seat.”

 

“That's great,” said Rose, though she didn't sound like she meant it.  Scorpius felt her gaze turn on him, and he pulled himself up straighter, feeling defensive.

 

“Al, hey, little bro,” came the voice of none other than James Potter.  He was still on the other side of the hall, having just entered, but everyone could hear him - that was how loud he was.  “Can you write to Mum and ask for new socks, I got mine ripped..." His voice trailed off when he came closer, eyes landing on his red-haired cousin. "Oh.  Rose.”

 

There was a pause as everyone shuffled uncomfortably, with the exception of Rose, who just looked back at James calmly.  Scorpius found himself admiring her guts.  The hat _had_ to have made a mistake - how could someone like her not be in Gryffindor and someone like _Scorpius_ be?

 

“Alright, James?” said Rose.  She seemed to be daring James to say what was on his mind.  Scorpius knew that if Rose was a boy, James would have jeered at her to no end for being in Slytherin.  But even James stuck to the unspoken principle that it'd be just too inhumanely cruel to make fun of a girl.

 

"Er... yeah," said James.  "I'm alright.  You... er, heard from Uncle Ron yet?"

 

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say.  Rose narrowed her eyes.  "Yes.  And he's fine with it."  She spoke the last three words with emphasis.

 

James frowned and opened his mouth, but before he could speak another person arrived on the scene, sending a wave of perfume to Scorpius's nose.  Rose smiled happily, "Victoire!"

 

Scorpius recognized the tall girl with long, flowing strawberry-blond hair as their Head Girl.  He heard Fletch and Stu sigh deeply next to him.

 

Victoire slung an arm around Rose's shoulders.  "James, stop being a prat.  Big deal that Rose is in Slytherin.  What House you're in shouldn't even matter.  My mum said at Beauxbatons they didn't have Houses, and everyone's friends.  None of this rivalry going on."

 

James rolled his eyes.  "You only say that 'cause _Teddy_ is all about 'peace and equality' and whatever."

 

"James Sirius, don't think I haven't forgotten what you did last time!" snapped Victoire peevishly.  The transformation was frightening; Scorpius wondered why James didn't cower until her glare (that must be why he's in Gryffindor).

 

"What did I do?  Oh yeah, catch you and Teddy _snogging_ , ya mean?"

 

Albus shook his head in exasperation as Victoire threw her shoe at James's laughing, retreating back.  "See, I have to deal with stuff like this everyday," he muttered.

 

"I wish Victoire was _my_ cousin," said Fletch, staring after Victoire, his jaw still slack.

 

"Ugh, you're sick," Albus made a face, elbowing Fletch.  He suddenly remembered something and turned around.  "Hey, where'd Rose go?"

 

Scorpius was the only one who had seen Rose slip away, without saying a word, to go to the Slytherin table.  She walked away with her back straight and her expression unchanged, but personally, Scorpius thought she seemed a bit lonely.

 

\--

 

Rose was a few steps away from the Slytherin table when she was ambushed.  Her eyes widened in alarm before she registered the curls of red hair.

 

"Oh," Rose sighed.  "Hi, Dom, Molly."

 

Her cousins giggled to each other.  "Sorry, did we scare you?" asked Dom, still chortling.

 

"Yes, if that pleases you so much," said Rose, rolling her eyes.  She was several inches shorter than both girls and three years younger, but for some reason she always felt like the older one.

 

"Rosie," said Molly, regarding her concernedly over the top of her spectacles.  "You know you have to tell us if any of those Slytherin gits bother you."

 

"We'll kick their bloody arses!" declared Dom, punching her fist in the air.

 

Several Slytherins sitting nearby glared at them.  Rose pulled them a few steps back, wondering why whenever her cousins wanted to help the situation they just made it worse.

 

"I'm _fine_ ," said Rose.  She was getting rather bored of saying that now.  "They're not as bad as you think."

 

"You sure? You're getting along with your dormmates?" Molly wanted to know.

 

"Yes!" said Rose.  Well, it depends on your definition of 'getting along.'  They haven't shown signs of trying to kill her.  "You're acting like you're my parents."

 

"Speaking of them, what did they say?" asked Dom.

 

Rose thought back on the letter she received from Hermione yesterday.  _Your dad is still in a bit of a shock, but don't worry honey, he'll come around._  Ok, so he hadn't exactly given his blessings.  But on the plus side he didn't seem to have disinherited her.  Yet.

 

"They didn't care," lied Rose.

 

"This sucks so much though," whined Dom.  "We wanted you on our team!" 

 

Dom and Molly were both Chasers.  Uncle Percy nearly popped a blood vessel when he found out.  Kept complaining that Molly wouldn't have time to study and Dom was a bad influence.  But now Uncle Percy kept bragging to everyone how his daughter was good enough to join the Harpies.  Rose, considering this, felt more optimistic.

 

"Oh no," said Dom suddenly.  "We left our Potions essays back in the common room, Molly."

 

"You mean you left yours?  I've got mine in my bag."

 

Dom grimaced.  "No... I borrowed yours yesterday and I sort of forgot to put it back..."

 

"BORROWED MINE?  TO DO WHAT?"

 

"For inspiration, I swear!"  Dom glanced at Rose apologetically.  "Sorry, Rosie, we gotta go!"  Molly was already stomping off, arms crossed Percy-style.

 

Rose watched them disappear, feeling a little - just a little - sad inside.  She used to imagine spending the evenings in the cozy Gryffindor common room laughing with her cousins.  And now, everyone would be having fun there together without her.

 

As she sat down to eat, she caught someone looking at her from across the hall.  It was the boy with the white-blond hair.  Scorpius Malfoy, who stole her best friend.

 

Rose glared at him until he looked away.  She was being mean for no reason, Rose knew that.  But if it made her feel better to be mean, then so be it.


End file.
